This invention relates to method and apparatus for removing fluid seals from a carrier, and more particularly to the automated rapid removal of fluid seals having an adhesive on opposite sides thereof from a continuous strip of carrier material for presentation to a robotic apparatus which picks up the removed fluid seals and installs them on a device, such as, for example, an ink jet cartridge.
In the mass assembly of devices, each having a double sided adhesive coated fluid seal, the process for installing the fluid seal is complex and costly, especially when high reliability and accurate repeatability is required. One way to reduce the cost is to increase productivity; i.e., increase the speed of the process without reducing reliability or repeatability. The present invention provides such cost reducing, increased productivity.
An example of a device using a double-sided, adhesive-coated fluid seal is a thermal ink jet cartridge such as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,425. In this patent, an ink cartridge has an ink supply in a housing and an ink droplet ejecting printhead assembly is fixedly attached thereto. An ink flow path is provided by an elongated recess in the bottom wall of the housing. An outlet port connects one end of the recess to the ink supply in the cartridge housing. A film like fluid seal having an adhesive coating on both sides is installed on the cartridge housing bottom wall over the elongated recess to complete the ink flow path. A slot through the fluid seal is similarly sized to and aligned with the printhead ink inlet when the printhead assembly is permanently mounted on the bottom wall of the cartridge housing. The adhesive coatings on both sides of the fluid seal are cured, so that the adhesive coated on the fluid seal surface confronting the housing bottom wall seals the fluid seal to the cartridge and the adhesive coated on the opposite fluid seal surface bonds the fluid seal to the printhead, thereby providing a leak proof seal or gasket between the printhead and the cartridge. Because the adhesive coating is subjected to the ink, the adhesive must be of a type that is not attacked by the ink. Otherwise, the seal could be damaged and fail, and the ink could be contaminated by the adhesive.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,425, the fluid seals are picked off of a carrier strip by a robotic vacuum pick and place mechanism and positioned on the cartridge bottom wall. However, the removal of the fluid seal from the carrier strip was unreliable and slow, for the adhesive coating on the fluid seal surface contacting the carrier strip presented varying release characteristics when the vacuum pick attempted to separate the fluid seal from the carrier strip.